The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1887-09-02
WANTS A REHEARING.

The Northern Pacific Road Files an Applf-
cation for a Rehearing in the Matter of
Indemnity Lands.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26.-The Northern
Pacific Railroad Company, by attorney, has
filed with the Secretary Of the Interior an
application for a rehearing in the matter
of the revocation of the orders of with
drawal of Its indemnity lands, so far as
that revocation applies to the selections by
the company already of record, and to fu-
ture selections which it win hereafter have
to make Gin common with the rest Of the
world' The company takes exception to
the rules laid down in the decision referred
20 restricting the company's selections to
the State or Territory in which the losses
occur; and declaring there IS no second
indemnity belt, and that the company is en-
titled to losses only for lands disposed of
since the date of the grant of July 2 1854
The application says: ''It IS conceded by
the Department that under the original
charter the company would be entitled to
select indemnity for all lands lost prior to
the definite location of the road, without
limit Of time within which the losses must
have occurred But the decision then
proceeds to lay down that by its charter
the company was prohibited from issuing
bonds or mortgage, and was seeking to and
did have such prohibition removed by the
passage of the joint resolution of May 81,
1870, and that there was reason why asking
a right denied Congress should then modify
the indemnity proceedings. Hence, in
passing the joint resolution, and thereby
granting the right to issue bonds and mort
cages, the granting power therein re-
stricted the indemnity to losses occurring
between the date of the original act and
the date of the definite location, and speci-
fed that the indemnity selections should
be restricted to the particular States or
Territories in which the losses might be
sustained, declaring that part Of the deci-
sion which restricts indemnity for losses
after the passage of the granting act rests
upon the construction to be placed upon
the joint resolution of May 81, 1870. The
company desire to be heard upon that
question, asserting that it can show con-
clusively that the purpose of the resolution
was to give additional lands. Reference
is made to Secretary Teller's decision of
May IS, 1888, in which a second indemnity
belt was recognized, and in which the com
pany has selected, under authority of that
decision, some 372, 900 acres. With refer
ence to that part of the decision restricting
the company from making indemnity selec-
tiOns other than in the States or Territories
in which the losses occur, the application
again calls attention to this decision of
Secretary Teller in which it is held that 'it
was clearly the intention of the legislation
that within the indemnity limits fixed by
the Northern Pacific acts, the company
should have the opportunity to take lands
acre for acre, for all those lost in place.
This decision of Secretary Teller is referred
to as confirming the construction of the Law
under which the company has acted foI
sixteen years.
The New Orleans Pacific Railway Com
pany has also applied for a rehearing upon
the ground that it has not had sufficient op.
pOrtunity to make its selections. The Act.
these roads in support of their applica-
tlnns- nithal. orallH On. hL hl.ief